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CASH REGISTER" No. 556,047. Patented Mar. 10, 1896.

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Patented Mar.' l0, 1896.

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' i CASH REGISTER. No'. 556,047. Patented Mau'.v 10, v1896.

WITNESSES 'm2/M70@ f. 7% M d( ANDREW BGRAHAMPHOTU-LIYKD WASHINGTUN DC UNITED STATES PATENT CEEICE.-

CHARLES Il. DECKER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGIIOR TO FREDERICK IV. DECKER, OF SAME PLACE.

CASH-REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 556,047', dated March 10, 1896.

Application led February 11, 1895. Serial No. 537,878. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: 5 shows a cross-section of the rack-bars. Fig.

Be it known that I, CHARLES I-I. DECKER, a G is an enlarged view of the racks, the scale citizen of the United States, residing at Dein front of them, and the pointers reaching troit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, from the racks through the slots. In this 5 have invented a certain new and useful Imfigure only two racks of a set are shown. 55 provement in Cash-Registers; and I declare A indicates the case of a register; B, the the following to be a full, clear, and exact actuating-key by which the tablet-rod C is description of the invention, such as will enlifted. This key B swings on a bar D, -which able others skilled in the art to which it performs the common pivot of all the keys ofthe 1o tains to make and use the same, reference register. 60 being had to the accompanying drawings, As shown in the drawings, the key is a bar which form a part of this specification. of thin metal stamped into a U-shaped form;

This invention relates to cash-registers, but this form is not material to the invention. and has for its object an improvement that At a suitable point along the key B are sup- 15 pertains particularly to what maybe termed a ports for a set of rack-bars c b c, that have 65 partial adder,being the register or part of a vertical travel about equal to the length of the machine on which is shown from time to any one of them, as shown in Fig. 3. There time the total sums that have been indicated are three such rack-bars in the set, but they by any particular one of the keys. may be in number one or several. These are zo In cash-registers there are usually a numarranged to travel successively from the low- 7o ber of keys each one of which is devoted to ermost position (shown in Fig. 2) to an elethe registry of a particular sum or amount, vated position. and this register by this particular key is re- In front of the rack-bars above the key B peated as often as may be necessary to satisfy is an indicating-plate d, provided with verti- 2 5 the times of the business of the proprietor. cal slots e, and there is one vertical slot for 75 Generally the register will be employed for a each key or set of register-bars, and to the top stated period and will then be reset and begin of each of the register-bars is an index-finger its operations anew. or pointer f g 7i, that reaches forward through The invention about to be described is conthe slot e and is provided with a proper ter- 30 iined to this partial adder, and can be emminal, as appears in Fig. l. 8o

ployed with various means for displaying or The pointer j forms a part of the registerindicating the individual sums that enter into bar d, the pointer f being the topmost of the the total sum, and I have therefore indicated pointers of this set and the bar a. being the one of the most common forms of making the first one of the bars to engage the pawl and display, but omit both from the drawings and travel upward. The pointer g forms a part 8 5 the description the details of these features. of the second bar Z7, and the pointer 7L forms a In the drawings, Figure l shows in perspecpart of the third (or last bar of a set of three). tive the cash-register containing my inven- Arranged vertically beside each slot is a tion, and from the drawings the register is scale of which the divisions are equal to the 4o shown as though the end of it were cut into pitch of the rack-teeth. At the top of each 9o parts for the purpose of showing the interior rack-bar, except the iirst of the series, is a arrangement. Fig. 2 shows in elevation a space on which there are no teeth, and the single' actuating-key and the racks that compawl d', the face of whichis wide enough to prise the registering device. Fig. 3 shows in reach across all the bars of the series, engages 4 5 front elevation the racks that compose a sin the rack-bars at this place. Then all the 95 gle partial adder, indicating the means by pawls are at their lowermost position, the opwhich they are brought into successive acerating-pawl h', pivoted to the key-levers, tion. Fig. 4C shows somewhat modified in will engage and lift the bars ofthe series, but form and on an enlarged scale the register- .the upper pawl CZ will engage with and hold 5o racks and their actuating mechanism. Fig. up only the iirst bar of the series, and this bar roo alone will continue to rise under the successive actuating impulses of the key and the holding action of the pawl d until the first bar, rising to near its upperlimit, lifts the succeeding bar until its toothed portion engages the pawl d. This lifting of the succeeding bar is accomplished by the following described means: At the top of each rack-bar, except the llrst in the series, is a lug 7i: 7e, and at the bottom of each rack-bar, except the last one of the set, is a lug a a2. XVhen the first rack-bar of the set has been lifted within one or two notches of its cxtreme capacity for elevation, the lu g a engages the lug-71: of the second rack of the set and lifts it during the next suceeedin g stroke of the key B. The upper tooth of the rack l1 now engages with the pawl b', and the rack l) continues to be lifted step by step in the saine way that the first rack has already been lifted. The third follows the second rack in the same way.

As the rack c rises it carries the pointer f up along the scale beside the slot e until the capacity for registering of the first rack has been exhausted and the second rack begins to register along the same scale from the bottom upward, and the second index may, if desired, carry upon its face a figure which indicates the total amount registered by the rack that has preceded it, and each succeeding rack and index. may in a similar way indicate at once to the c ye the total registry of this set of rack-bars. In orderto lift the rackbars step by step there is hinged to the key a pawl l, that engages with a tooth of the rackbar and lifts the rack a definite distance each time that the key-lever is actuated. A restbar or guard-bar b2 prevents the pawl l1 from engaging the rack-bar at a point lower down than it ought to engage it in lifting it irregularly or too much at cach actuation of the keylever. A holding-dog d sustains the rackbars as they are lifted.

lVhen it is desired to readjust the rackbars by dropping' all of those that have been lifted the readjustment is actuated at once by a single lever L, one leg of which consists of a bar (seen in section in Fig. 2 and in perspective in Fig. l) that reaches across the register above the tails d2 and the dogs d. Illy actuating the lever L the dogs d are thrown out of engagement with the rackbars, and the pawls b are out of engagement at all times when not brought into and held in engagement with the rack-bars by the finger of the operator. lVhen both the pawl and the dogs cease to engage the rack-bars,

the bars drop by gravity to their nonregistering position.

The spring al serves to maintain the engagement between the dog LZ/ and the rackbars, and the spring l serves to hold the lever L against accidentally readjusting the rack bars. A single pawl 1)' is used to successively lift the rack-bar belonging to the key to which the pawl is attached, and the single holding dog serves to hold them as they successively come into action.

The front of the case may be closed in by a piece of glass M, (shown in Fig. 2,) through which the register can at all times be inspectcd, or it may be closed in by the usual metal casing.

In the form shown in Fig. -ft the holdiug dog is located below the actuating-pand, but in other respects the construction is as has been already described. I have shown7 however, in this if'igure only a sin gle .regisl er-rack with each key.

lVhat I claim is-n l. In a cash-register, the combination. ol a plurality of vertical racks adapted to engage a single lifting-pawl, a litting-pawl. actuated by a key-lever, means by which the racks are brought successively into engagement with said lifting-pawl, a scale located parallelto the path of said pawls7 andpointers provided with indicating characters whereby they unil e with the scale in indicating the total actuating impulses given by the key, substantially as described.

2. In a cash-register, a plurality of vertical racks adapted to engage a single litting-pawl7 a lifting-pawl actuated by a key-lever7 and means by which the racks are brought suc cessively into engagement with said littingpawl, substantially as described.

3. In a cash-register, the combination ol' a keylever, a lifting-pawl on the kcyelever, a plurality of racks, each of which, except the first in series, is provided with an untoothed portion over which the pawl can act without lifting the rack, a lug at the bottom el' the first, and a similar lug at the top of the second, said two lugs being adapted to engage and start the second rack upward when the first rack is near the end of its upward travel, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES ll. DECKER. lVitnesses:

CHARLES F. BUn'roN, F. (tnoueri. 

